William adaie



, UNITED., STAIS 'PATENT OFFICE,

WILLIAMADAIR, OF LIvnnrOoL COUNTY OF LANCASTER, ENGLAND.

STEERING-GEAR FOR VESSELS.

f SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.292,6 11, dated January 29, 1884.

d nppncntion'eied octoberi, isses. (No model.)

To all whom' it may concern.-

Be it'known that I, WILLIAM ADAIR, a subject ofthe Queenof Great Britain, residing at Ijiverpool, in the county of Lancaster, England, have invented a new.and useful Improvement in Steering-Gears, of which the following-is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of steering` apparatus forgivingmotion tothe rudders of ships and navigablervessels in which the horizontal shaft of the steering-wheel is provided with worm-gear which operates one or more pinions, from which the power is transmitted by gearing to the rudder-head. In the apparatus as heretofore constructed the horizontal Worm-shaft was necessarily supported at each end by'bearings which were separate fromv and incapable of vertical movement with the rudder-head, and on account of the construction of the gearing employed the apparatus was. also necessarily made large, and for these reasons occupied more space on deck than was sometimes desirable. It also necessitated the employment of separate gear-wheels to mesh with the worm on the shaft, and the gearing rigidly connected to the rudderfhead, so that it lacked the quality of compactness, and required a large number of parts.'

The object o f my invention isto form compact apparatus having few parts for this purpose, the apparatus being so constructed as to be self-contained, and to occupy little space, andeasily operated to impart the motion to the rudder, either directly or from a distance, as amid-ships.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will describe its construction and operation, referring to the ac. companying drawings, in which* Figure l is an elevation, Fig. 2 a plan with A the cover removed, and Fig. 3 a' vertical section, of my steering-gear applied directly to the rudder-head. Fig. 4 isa side elevation ofmy steering-gear modified, so as to give motion to the rudder from a distance.

In Figs l, 2, and 3, a. is the rudder-head; b, bed-plate secured to the rudder-head. by setscrews, keys, or other suitable means; c c',- toothed quadrants, formed. with the said bedplate b, or secured thereto by means of bolts and nuts, d, sole-plate pivoted to b at its center le, directly over the vertical axis of the rudder-head c. The said sole-plate d is free to revolve on its central pivot, e, on the said bedplate, forming, as hereinafterrshown,"bearings g forthe horizontall shaft, and it can rise and fallwith the rudder-head in case of any Vverticalor jarring'lmotion thereof. It is tted or formed with two studs or pins-ff, on which are `loosely pivoted'the Vcombined Worm and gear wheels g g', these wheels being of such diameter as to gear into the toothed segments C C and into'the worm or endless screw 7L on the shaft z', extending between said-wheels. The outerv edges of the gear-wheels mesh with the segments, while the faces between these edges are made concave, and provided with the Worm-gear, the worm h fitting within the concave facesof the wheels, and the same wheels, therefore, receiving the power from the shaft I and transmitting ,it to the segments. The screw or worm is right and left handed, or is what is commonly called diamondthreaded. The said shaft i is carried by bearings j, forming part of the sole-plate d and cover-plate 7c. The cover-plate 7c is connected to the sole-plate d by the studs or pins ff and by bolts Z, passing through {the bearings j. 'Ihe top and bottom plates, 7c d, pins or studs ff', bearings j, and bolts Z form a frame carrying the wheels g g and shaft i, 'all capable of revolving freely ou the center pivot, c.

m is a standard secured to the ships deck, and provided with a bearing in .which the outer end of the shaft t' rests; a, steering wheel secured to the shaft i. As the shaft is journaled in the bearings j j on the sole-plate, it is evident that the bearing on the standardk m is only necessary to support the wheel and hold the plate from turning with the bedplate. The opposite end of the shaft t' might, if desired, be carried to a standard and be provided with a steering-wheel. The cover o vis supported on the bed-plate 'u and turns with it. v

It will be obvious that if motion is given to the wheel n in the direction shown by the arrow, the wheels g g will also be moved as shown,and drive round the quadrants C G', and with them thebed-plate b and rudder-head a. A reverse motion of the steering-wheel will give opposite motion to the rudder.

IOO

Fig. et is a view of apparatus for giving 1notion to the rudder from amid-ships or other suitable position, p, standard or carrier irinl y secured to the deck of the ship or vessel. The bed-plate b is here formed with a sleeve, q, which fits over the standard p, so as to allow of its revolving thereon; yr, socket east with or securedto the sleeve qfor carrying a lever-arm, s, to which are. attached the rudder-chains or other connections for giving motion to the rudder. Instead of providing the bed-plate with a sleeve fitting around the xed standard, it might be made with a cylindrical carrier tting Within a hollow standard or in bearings'.

It will be obviousthat a quadrant or wheel might be used in` place of the socket 1', and that india-rubber or other buffers might be attached to the bearings orother parts of the apparatus, to reduce rigidity and prevent strains or shocks being communicated too abruptly from the rudder to the steering-Wheel. One quadrant and wheel only may be used, if preferred, but not so advantageously except as regards cheapness. In this case a diamond thread on the screw would not be required.

The apparatus is simple in construction, has few parts, is easily operated, and much more compact than the steerin ggea r heretofore employed.

I claim- 1. The combination of the bed-plate b, having the quadrants C C', sole-plate d, pivoted on said bed-plate and carrying the horizontal worm shaft i", and gearing connecting the Worm-shaft and quadrants, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination of the bed-plate I), having the quadrants C C', sole-plate d, pivoted on said bed-plate and carrying the horizontal worm-shaft i, and combined Worm and spur gear wheels y f/, pivoted on said sole-plate and connectin g said shaft and quadrants, substantiallyr as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination of the bed-plate b, having the quadrants C C', sole-plate d, pivoted on said bed -plate and carrying the horizontal Worin-shaft combined worm and spur gear wheels r/. connecting said shaft and quadrants, standard m, and steering-wheel n, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. The combination of the xed standard p, bed-plate b, having the sleeve q, fitting over said standard, sole-plate d, pivoted on said bedlplate, and gearing connecting the horizontal shaft i and bed-plate, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

XVM. ADA'IR.

fitnessesz \V. B. JOIINsoN, J. Blomus'. 

